And Now, A Word About The Donald

Anyone who knows me also knows the likelihood of my ever supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is on par with me joining up with ISIS. I consider the man little more than a carpetbagger, a charlatan and a fraud.

That being said, he is a declared candidate for President and in this early stage, a successful one. While I doubt he believes even half what he says (based on previous positions he’s taken and supported financially), the fact is that he’s given voice to the concerns of a large number of Americans. Enough so, that he’s surged to the top of the most recent polls. While I think the man expressing those points of view should be the subject of ridicule, there shouldn’t be any doubt that the views are worthy of merit.

This is why I’m disturbed and disheartened about Huffington Post’s determination to marginalize the Donald’s campaign by relegating their coverage to their entertainment section. Yes, I know this particular publication is to the left of Pravda. And yes, I know they wouldn’t be happy with any candidate unless their name was Che. However, their action is much more than an editorial decision. They’ve decided that the media – not the American electorate – should be the final arbiter of who is, and who is not, a viable candidate. With that decision, they’ve also made themselves the sole voice on what opinions and topics should be discussed during the campaign. They’ve become nothing more than the propaganda arm of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

The issues that have vaulted Trump to the top are immigration and foreign trade. The positions he’s taken are not only anathema to liberals, but guaranteed to get them frothing at the mouth. Yet, these are positions that are echoed by a plurality of the electorate. They cannot and should not be disregarded. Yes, I would like to see them expressed by a better candidate – but the candidate who allows them to be discussed should be respected, if only got that.

I have no problem with any publication editorializing. HuffPo can write an editorial every day demonizing Trump. My concern is when they show such overt, discriminate bias in news coverage. News is news, regardless of whether you like it. And disregarding the views of (based on polling) more than half the country by calling it entertainment is only resigning yourself, and your readers, to a very small corner.

Although I have to admit, this absurd editorial turn does pose an interesting question. Since Trump is virtually guaranteed a spot in the initial debates, does HuffPo intend to cover them as a political event, or out them in column two, right below an article about Bruce Jenner’s next boob job?